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| Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures |
In 2000, Ridley Scott's Gladiator captured audiences and critics alike, becoming the second highest-grossing film that year as well as nabbing five Oscars, including Best Picture. While it was an action-packed spectacle, at its core, it was a poignant character examination of a man who lost everything and his journey to help others avoid the same fate. Russell Crowe's turn as Maximus is an iconic performance, as a man who initially profited from violence and then suddenly was decimated by it, and an exploration of the corrupt system that put profits over humanity. Joaquin Phoenix's morose and tortured performance as the antagonist, Commodus, is equally memorable and adds much-needed depth to the conflict.
Given the satisfying finale of the first film, most audiences weren't clamoring for a sequel, but twenty-four years later, Scott has decided to revisit Rome with Gladiator II (2024). This story takes place sixteen years later, and Rome has new rulers: twin emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger). Lucius Verus Aurelius (Paul Mescal), the son of Maximus, has grown into an adult and, after leaving Rome to avoid assassination, lives a simple life in Numidia. A Roman army led by General Acacius (Pedro Pascal) conquers Numida, taking Lucius and the other residents back to Rome as enslaved people. Lucius now has to try to earn his freedom by becoming a gladiator while simultaneously embroiling in the political drama that plagues the Senate.
Right off the bat, the narrative in Gladiator II is more complex and convoluted than the first film as it has to incorporate elements from the original and establish new characters, but it does so by using familiar story beats. To be fair, it's operating with tropes that Scott established in the first place, but it feels like a retread most of the time. Interestingly, the original Gladiator critiques violence as amusement (are you not entertained?!), and this one embraces violence as entertainment (look, there are sharks now!). It reminds one of the dichotomies between First Blood (1982) and the Rambo sequels: one is a deconstruction, and the rest ignore that theme for spectacle.
Paul Mescal is flat in his role and doesn't possess the raw charisma Crowe brought to his Maximus performance, and it's hard to find something compelling to latch on to. Geta and Caracalla are queer-coded villains who embrace all the clichés inherent in that trope, which comes off as equally dated and stale. Commodus similarly toed the line in Gladiator with his emasculated demeanor, but his darker inclinations and sinister presentation offset this.
The film's real standout is Denzel Washington as Macrinus, a former slave with aspirations of ruling Rome. He is a wild card in the story and steals every scene he is in. While he has more to do in the third act, he is underused in the first two-thirds of the film, and subsequently, without the proper build-up, his character arc is anticlimactic and rushed. Ironically, though Macrinus was written to be bi-sexual, a same-sex kiss was cut from the film, perhaps because, for some, it might undercut his masculinity, but it would have made his character more nuanced and exciting; a man who was forced to be a slave who upon his freedom extended it to his love life as well. This is not to say that the original Gladiator was an intricate film, but if a sequel must be made, it should take some chances with the material.
On the technical front, Gladiator II feels like a downgrade from the first film, both visually and aurally. The cinematography is bland and lifeless, and the score by Harry Gregson-Williams is tepid and unmemorable save for the fleeting moments it borrows the leitmotifs from Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard's superior work. There are more action scenes, but they lack tension and are full of CGI, with mindless fights to pad the runtime. Overall, it lacks the visual flourishes and flair of the first film, and it looks like something that should have gone straight to streaming.
Sadly, Gladiator II fails to recapture what made the first film special. While it isn't egregiously terrible, it's forgettable and dull, which is arguably worse.
--Michelle Kisner